Heated Rivalry inspires real-life hockey player to come out
Advocate.com • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Jesse Kortuem, a former hockey player who left the sport due to fears about reconciling his sexuality with his athletic career, has publicly come out as gay, inspired by the show Heated Rivalry.
- Kortuem shared his personal journey of hiding his sexuality throughout his hockey career, describing the locker room as a place where he felt unsafe to be his true self.
- Growing up in Minnesota, he struggled with the fear that being gay conflicted with the masculine culture of hockey, leading him to quit his high school team at 17.
- After years of closeted play, a pivotal moment came in 2017 when Kortuem participated in a gay hockey tournament, which helped him find community and acceptance among other gay hockey
